What happens to the female members of the feared al-Khansaa brigade, charged by ISIS with enforcing its draconian morality standards by any means necessary?

Given that the women are clothed head to toe in black, they are able to escape ISIS held territory more easily than male fighters, who can be identified and arrested.

“Until this day, I wake up in the middle of the night trembling,” a woman named Um Omar told Al-Arabiya. “Each time I feel footsteps next to my tent or a person bumping into it, I imagine it is one of the ‘biters’ of ISIS who has come to kill me.”

The al-Khansaa brigade, known colloquially as “biters,” reportedly carries out all sorts of abuse against women who commit even the most minor of infractions against ISIS dress codes.

According to the Russian media outlet Sputnik, these punishments include using rending instruments to tear the flesh even of children caught stepping outside without their male guardian. In one case this reportedly led to a ten year old bleeding to death after having her body ripped by a metal biting instrument.

Other offences allegedly include

Breastfeeding a child outside the house Not wearing black socks or black sleeves Lifting a full face veil Wearing high heels Wearing a jilbab (floor length robe) that isn’t black Wearing shoes that aren’t black Having a purse that isn’t black.

The dissident media group Raqqa Is Being Slaughtered Silently reported that a device known as a “biter” is used to shred the breasts of women caught breastfeeding outside.

With the Islamic State losing territory rapidly and the Iraqi army in the process of liberating Mosul, refugees are streaming away from the fighting.

How to differentiate between ISIS fighters trying to escape disguised as refugees and genuine refugees is proving difficult.

From time to time fighters are identified by witnesses in the camps. One woman reportedly identified one of the so-called “biters” but she managed to escape before she could be detained.

But with the volume of refugees and the chaos going on it is all but impossible to know who is who."